McKee Earns Second Consecutive Trip to NCAA Championships in Triple Jump
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Senior Kelly McKee (Lenexa, Kan.) qualified for her second consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump on Saturday (May 25) at the Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., to lead the Virginia women’s track and field team on the final day of the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds.
McKee jumped 13.56m (44’6″) on her second attempt in the triple jump to leap into fourth place and secure her spot in Austin. She will compete at the outdoor championships for the second time in her career after placing ninth at last year’s championship.
McKee is the first female Cavalier to qualify for back-to-back NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump since Dana Boone advanced in 1989-90-91.
“Kelly came into this meet with one objective, qualify for Austin,” assistant coach Mario Wilson said. “Her second round attempt looked effortless and proved to be more than enough. This marks her second consecutive year at the NCAA Championships.”
Redshirt senior Bridget Guy (Greensburg, Pa.) and junior Andrenette Knight (Morant Bay, Jamaica) will join McKee at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas (June 5-8), after qualifying in events on Friday. Guy cleared a height of 4.17m (13’8.25″) to tie for the top height in the pole vault. Knight ran a season-best in the 400m hurdles to punch her ticket in the 400m hurdles. She ran a time of 57.05 in the quarterfinals.
“It’s been a great outdoor season so far,” director of track and field Bryan Fetzer said. “I’m very proud of the team. This is a tremendous group of young ladies. We really came together atACCs and advanced the most (UVA women) to the NCAA First and Second Rounds. We have a very young team and it should serve as a great learning experience for a number of them. We will only get better going forward.
“All three (Guy, Knight and McKee) are experienced when it comes to the championships. All have been competing very confidently and peaking at the right time. They will have the opportunity to do something special.”
Sophomore Brittany Jones (Bloomfield, Conn.) also competed during the day’s events, finishing 22nd in the shot put. Jones captured the second-best throw in heat two at 15.85m (52’0″), recording the mark on her second attempt.
The women’s 4x100m relay team of senior Ciara Leonard (Elkins Park, Pa.), sophomore Halle Hazzard (Commack, N.Y.), junior Alexis Woodley (Chesapeake, Va.) and junior Anna Jefferson (Warren, Mich.) finished 22nd with a time of 44.98, two-hundredths of a second shy of the team’s season-best time in the event.
The NCAA Championships will be held in Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas (June 5-8).